[You have] a black dad and a white, Jewish mom. Do those issues of race and identity play out differently in Canada compared to the US?
Well, Canada’s like a cultural melting pot, especially Toronto. America, I come here sometimes and I witness, like, real segregation. Like when you go to LA and it’s like, “This area’s Mexican, and this area’s white.” That’s crazy to me because in Toronto we have cultural areas—”OK, this is Little India, this is Chinatown, this is where there the Greek people are”—but it’s not segregated. It’s not like you can’t go there and participate in the culture. So it’s a bit different. I think Canada’s very accepting. But at the same time I get a lot of love everywhere in the world for just being diverse, instead of just being straight out [one thing]. I’m all mixed up and people embrace that.

When you identify yourself this way do you ever get questioned on it, like, “Why do you call yourself ‘mixed’?” or “What’s wrong with just being black?”
I mean, I’m so light that people are like “you’re white.” That’s what I get more than anything, people saying “you’re white, you’re not black.” But I mean those are whatever, those are just silly jokes. That’s like “the light-skinned complex.” That’s a very American thing as well, light skin and dark skin, like I don’t even notice that. Girls will be like “oh I’ve seen you talk to dark-skinned girls, that’s so good.” And I’m like “why? I talk to any girl!” I talk to anybody, you know?

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Fantasia has been in the news over the last couple of months due to her relationship with her married boyfriend Antwuan Cook.  By now you’ve heard about the lawsuit, the suicide attempt and the two of them moving in together. We don’t really know why a woman would get involved with a married man, but Fantasia has to know this will not end well. Rather than shy away from the media, Fantasia has stepped forward to discuss the affair.

In a recent interview Fantasia tells Vibe that she feels her “African and more ethnic features” played a role in the coverage she received from the mainstream media regarding her affair with her married boyfriend as opposed to the coverage Alicia Keys received.

Yes, I do. I really feel like it does. I was on Nancy Grace, CNN, every gospel station and in every magazine and every newspaper. It was on. You would have thought I was the President or something.

She said she wasn’t surprised though because she has had to deal with it since her “Idol”days.

“I’ve battled and have had to deal with that before. Lord forgive me and I don’t want to offend anybody but when [I did Idol] it seemed like everybody there was Barbied out. Slim, long hair, light eyes, light-skinned. And here I come with my dark skin, full nose, short hair and full lips — it was hard.”

“They never put me in those magazines [featuring] the red carpet. Everybody there has long hair and everybody is bright-skinned, and I was like, ‘But wait a minute. They never gave me that.’ That bothered me. And then I tried hard to find people to dress me and they still would not put me there [in those magazines].”

“One day I was like, ‘that’s okay’, but I had to get to that point. I am a dark-skinned, full-lipped sister and it’s all right. Brown is in baby, and it ain’t going anywhere.” —

SOURCE

We’re big fans of Fantasia, but this had nothing to do with the color of her skin…NEWSFLASH…you broke up a marriage!!

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Cleopatra, The Last Air Bender, Bonanza, Kung Fu, and so on. These are examples of movies and TV shows who instead of casting an ethnic actor to play an ethnic character they enlisted a White actor in their place. Sadly, “The Prince Of Persia”and the new version of the movie “Cleopatra” will join them in the manipulative studio tactic called race bending. Race bending is defined as when a movie studio/publisher, etc. changes the ethnicity of a character with a resultant discriminatory impact on an underrepresented cultural community and actors from that community. In other words, instead of casting a person of color to play a person of color, they enlist a White actor for the role instead.

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There are several reasons why studios take this direction. One being that they feel that the audience will not connect with the lead character unless they are white washed, even if the actual character is a person of color. Another is that they think that the audiences are so unaccustomed to seeing a person of color as lead in a big budget film that the movie could not possibly be a success if they cast an actual person of color in the role. Finally, if the character they are depicting in some way is a hero of sorts, or a historical legend, Hollywood prefers to portray those historical legendary types as being White. Not all legends but certain ones that they feel White audiences feel a connection to and want to fulfill that connection by portraying them as being ethic but not really THAT ethnic. Maintaining the thinking that the White audience members place this certain historical figure on a pedestal of some kind and can only accept seeing them as being White even if historical evidence says the opposite. Similar to how they often portray Jesus Christ. I digress.

One would assume from this long standing tradition of White washing characters that the movie studios assume that audience’s are intolerant, narrow minded, simpletons. Although we do have some members of our population who do represent that description, it does not count for the masses. Give audience’s credit. It should be clear to… To Read The Rest Go To YeahSheSaidIt

WATCH: “Colour Of Beauty” Film Follows Struggling Black Model

KeKe Wyatt recently sat down with HelloBeautiful to discuss her album and to clear the air regarding an interview she did with Essence magazine.

The singer says that she was misquoted in the article, says the Essence writer/interviewer misconstrued her “off-the-record” comments about her white mother’s use of the N-word.

The actual quote from the Essence.com article reads as follows:

“I hate how everyone thinks that Black people are beneath them, even Asians, Whites and … Mexicans. No, I’m not all Black, but I definitely stand up for the Black people. They’ve had it rough, they can’t help the fact that they’re skin is dark, or that their nose is a lil’ wider or that the curls in their hair might be tighter. I don’t think that it’s fair for people who look like me-the light skin, pointy nose and pretty hair-to think that dark-complected people are any less than them. Who am I? I’m not better than you. I breathe the same air and I bleed the same blood. Nobody is better than anybody else. We are all in this struggle called life. I think brown skin is beautiful because people like me have to lay out in the sun to try and look like you. My best friends are Black-I mean, Black-Black-and I think that’s so beautiful. I think that’s why I decided to make my children Black…I could have married a White dude and my kids probably would have looked completely White. That’s not what I wanted. Now, they can go outside and get a for-real tan (laughs). I think Black is beautiful. I stand for the African-American people until the day I die.”

Watch the interview here:

Want to find out about Keke’s domestic abuse? What led to the now infamous stabbing? Click here.

Take a look at Keke’s new video for her single “Who Knew”

(From huffingtonpost.com)

Amanda Bynes has a new boyfriend who knows how to love her body right and she’d like us to know this has something to do with him being black.

“it’s amaziing how good it feels when someone knows how to love your body! I am having withdrawals from a certain guy lol :)” she tweeted last week. “So turns out i prefer chocolate over vanilla. interesting.”

Amanda’s chocolate man is rumored to be rapper Kid Cudi. She tweeted her irritation when he lost at the Grammys and has been tweeting about love and marriage ever since–up until Thursday when things took a turn for the melancholy.

Some people took offense at her racial preference, and she took to Twitter once again on Wednesday to defend it. Amanda has since deleted the tweets but luckily bloggers have preserved them in screen grabs:

Click here for more of this story

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Some billboards in the “A-Town” have an unnerving message for African-Americans: “Black children are an endangered species (?)”

Here’s the deal: A national media corporation reported Friday that southern anti-abortion groups say black women “are having a disproportionate number of abortions,” in which are on the rise in the Peach State, based on federal data.

It indicates that 54 percent of the abortions in Georgia are performed on black women; even though black people constitute 30 percent of the general population.

54 percent! That’s staggering, yes. However, where are these women’s voices?

Organized parties opposing the advertising campaign and contradictory data have come out of the woodwork, but where are these lades’ written stories?

It must be disheartening for a woman of color who exercises her right to choose to see an advertisement depicting a lost African-American tyke, blaming her for the endangerment of his race when driving on a major highway.

What about those hundreds of thousands of children in foster care with limited care and resources, and when they are adopted, how many of them are in abusive homes?

Those statistics are also staggering.

Georgia Right to Life, a state anti-abortion group, partnered with Atlanta-based Radiance Foundation, a proponent of adoption, to launch this campaign that comes complete with a Web site called www.toomanyaborted.com. They say that abortion is a setback for a growing black America, not just for black women.

I am also assuming that eliminating a woman’s freedom to be a decision-maker is being progressive?

Debates on health care reform, with abortion an apparent sticking point, continue in unrest among non-bipartisan elected leaders to community activists at town halls.

I wonder after all is said and done, Will such billboards be allowed near every exit or toll station throughout our country?

Maybe the answer will be discovered in former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow’s pro-life ad expected to air in the Super Bowl.

I support a women’s right to choose. What’s your word?

Links:

http://www.afterellen.com/node/67360,

http://womensissues.about.com/od/reproductiverights/a/AbortionArgumen.htm

What is the cause of the problems of African American men and women in America?

Hey Cupcakes,

This documentary Meeting David Wilson by filmmaker David Wilson aired last year on CNBC. This clip was just sent to me. When I hosted BET’s Best Shorts short film competition I ended every show saying, “Until lions tell their own stories, tales of the hunt will justify the hunter.” Tell your stories.

Check it out!

What do you think?

It looks like Diddy has been hating on his own kind AGAIN. A blog claims that Diddy requested for there to only be blonde and fair-skinned women around him on New Year’s Eve. He also said that he did not want Black women in his section. Here’s what Bossip.com had to say:

Our source says that Diddy had specific requirements for women to get into his VIP section at his Vanity Fair New Year’s Bash, the women had to have blonde hair and fair skin. The source goes on to say that Diddy specifically told security he didn’t want any black women in his section.

This isn’t the first time Diddy has discriminated against Black women. Remember when we brought you the Ciroc call sheet for models that specifically said they wanted light skinned women??? In case you missed it, click here for the full story!

What’s so great about being light-skinned?

Mariah Carey recently appeared on “Lopez Tonight” and finally admitted that she was black. The singer gave a shout out to her Irish mother, and said her father was black and grew up in Harlem. She also revealed the DNA test results of host George Lopez, find out what he is below:

The singer will launch her first North American tour in more than three years on December 31 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

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Take a look at our Mariah gallery:

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Rolling Out magazine recently interviewed actress LisaRaye McCoy. Here are some excerpts from the conversation:

On her public divorce helping others: I think the only way you can encourage people is through your experiences, your pains and your joys. That’s what I am working to do with my situation.

Her thoughts on the disparaging remarks made by rapper Khia: Khia? Khia Who? And what do I care about any of that? If I wasn’t hot enough to still have people talking about me, they wouldn’t be saying anything. So I must be relevant to them and to her.

Is LisaRaye dating Al Sharpton?

Her position on the responsibility of celebrities: At some point in time we [celebrities] have to take responsibility for what’s going on in the world … for our music; for the lyrics. You can’t be rapping and singing about the same things, or even talking about the same things that you talked about 10 years ago. Where’s the growth?

Her decision to avoid discussions of light-skinned vs. dark-skinned: I don’t get into issues of light-skinned [vs.] dark-skinned, because to me all black is beautiful. We are the only race that comes in multiple colors, and I love it. So what we need to do as a race – as women and as sisters – is come together. I bleed just like you do.

Her belief that she’ll find love again: I am a fan of love. I am a fan of friendship. I’m a fan of a partnership. Who wants to fight in this world alone? That’s boring … that’s lonely.

LisaRaye the victim of airport theft

Take a look at our LisaRaye gallery:

There are so many beautiful things about the African American race, like our beautiful skin tones, our amazing skills and talents, our aggressive competitive nature, our strong spirituality, our dedication to the ones we love, but there is a glaring problem that we must take responsibility for and change!

All violence is wrong and should end, but it is heart wrenching to continue to hear of innocent black people dying at the hands of their brother.

Now I am no fool and I understand the plight of a black man, I understand the conditions under which some black men are forced to live, but does it give them the right to be so angry and to kill? Too many African Americans believe that somehow they were wronged or the system is keeping them down, but that mentality only perpetuates the same situations and circumstances we are already in. So many have come before us to allow us equal rights as our counterparts and we are still making excuses. Our circumstances are only made worse by our perspective. If we can change our perspective we instantaneously change our circumstances. Now this is not to down play our past, instead I write this in hopes to change our future.

Here’s a story…..

I sat on the plane with a man whose father chose not to be in his life. His mother was forced to raise him and his brothers alone, and had difficulties keeping a job and providing for the boys. She did the best she could, but her children were forced to live in rough communities and get jobs at a young age to help keep the family afloat. The gentleman I sat next to, went to school, did well enough to earn a scholarship, and eventually became a doctor. He was headed to India to do research and provide free medical care! Now after reading this story you may think it was an African American man, but it wasn’t! It was a Caucasian man that believed that his situation was only temporary. He believed that it was only a matter of time before he would be doing something that would change his financial situation and forever bring him out of poverty!

Now why is this? Why did this man KNOW that things would change? We could say a lot of things……but the number one reason was his perspective!

Too many of us believe that our current situation is a definite indicator of our future. We don’t see it as a temporary place from which we WILL grow! If we continue to believe that we must live in the ghettos because our parents lived there, or because that’s where we belong, we will forever be an angry race blaming others for our situations.

A.J Jewell and Derrion Albert did not have to die, and even though I wasn’t at either scene, I already know what happened! I’ve seen it over and over again. Black men that care more about their shoes than the value of another human life! They care more about their reputation of being a thug than taking the high road and doing what’s right. We also must stop robbing one another for personal advancement. There are so many ways to make money in America and none of us have an excuse to steal or kill to provide for our families or for ourselves.

We must unite on this issue and change our perspective. Now I understand this is a major issue and I don’t want to simplify it by saying that we all can just change our circumstances in a day, but we are a beautiful race full of potential. When we all truly believe that, then and only then, will we reach our goals. We must realize that as we kill or steal from our brothers we essentially kill the spirit of our entire race!

Tameka Raymond wrote an interesting article for the Huffington Post looking at the light vs. dark-skinned issue in the Black community.

“She’s Pretty for a Dark-Skinned Girl…”

I am a dark-skinned African American woman with features that reflect my ancestry. Debates regarding Light vs. Dark and other biases have plagued our race for years and continues to impact millions of Black women. The deeply rooted intra-racial contempt that lies beneath this inane “compliment” is the reason I’ve chosen to spark dialogue surrounding the topic of self-hatred in our culture. It saturates every aspect of our lives, dominating the perspectives of our generation as a whole. We culturally are so influential, at times inadvertently, that we affect all with the words we utter and the images we portray. It lends to the theory of systemic racism. I’m authoring this piece because I’m miffed by this reality and would like to share my views on these subjects.

It is a fact that many African-Americans are often mixed with an array of other ethnicities (as am I), which allows for the spectrum of our features to be as distinctive and special as we are diverse. Why is it felt that the more diluted our traditionally African features become the more aesthetically acceptable we are considered? It was said in the 1960s and the sentiment seems to be forgotten, “Black is Beautiful.” Wow, nearly 50 years later and is that now only meant for a specific shade? Nonetheless, I believe the beauty of our people and splendor of every individual is reflected in our varying features and hues.

Often dark-skinned women are considered mean, domineering and standoffish and it was these very labels she hasthat followed Michelle Obama during the campaign for her husband’s presidency and which had to work tirelessly to combat. I was appalled when I heard a Black woman refer to Michelle Obama as unattractive. The conversation turned into why President Obama picked her as his mate. No one in the witch-hunt made reference to the possibility that Michelle Obama was smart, funny, caring, a good person, highly accomplished or brilliant. Nor did they mention that she previously was President Obama’s supervisor. If she were fair skinned, petite with long straight or wavy hair, would the same opinions be linked to her? I seriously doubt it. It is believed that for the dark skinned, dreams are less obtainable.

One of my favorite quotes comes from the great poet Khalil Gibran who once wrote, “Beauty is not the face; beauty is a light in the heart.”

In fact, I have read similar comments about myself that I am “dark, aggressive, bossy and bitchy.” It has been stated that my husband should have been with a “younger, more beautiful” woman. Astoundingly, the majority of the remarks come from African-American women and are mimicked by others. Sadly enough, I don’t know nor have I met 99% of those making these assertions. Funny, how we can judge another without having personally seen, interacted with or experienced a person’s character.

As I began to delve into further research on this topic, and the more I read, I concluded that many of our people do not like what they see in the mirror. Seeing ones own reflection in another person and then to dissect it in an effort to destroy can only be the product of self-loathing. Why don’t we congratulate as opposed to hate?

There is an adage “hurt people, hurt people”. If this is true then we must examine the root of negative words and judgments that are passed on people. Unfortunately, we have internal stereotypes based off of skin color and facial features that stem from years of programming, dating back to the “Willie Lynch” method for creating a slave. In this infamous formula, one of the main factors in separating and creating division was placing the lighter skinned blacks in a higher position in the house, while those with darker skin were made to stay in the fields and deemed “less desirable”. Much like the Caste System in India. No matter what strides we make as a people, these issues continue to plague and rot our souls, causing significant decay to a portion of our population and truly hindering our progress. Perhaps we show progress in our wallets and lifestyles but not in our mind set.

Reading magazines, social media sites, watching our music videos, and television shows feed our appetites for all things ‘beauty”. Rarely, however do I see depictions of grace and elegance in the form of dark complexioned women. I Googled one of the more ethnic models, Alek Wek and I was saddened by the tone of what the bloggers wrote in reference to her complexion, features and hair texture. Ms. Wek’s escape from Sudan, her journey, philanthropy, and groundbreaking success as a supermodel in America is not only beautiful, but it displays her tenacity and character. African-Americans seemed to have lost their eye for character. These comments are evidence of the confusion that lies within many black people. It’s the cruelty and prejudice that has spilled into the fabric of our everyday lives. It makes me wonder what have we collectively lost as a people? Our Minds.

I too have fallen prey, while on vacation in Brazil I decided to undergo tummy lipo-surgery. After having an allergic reaction to the anesthesia, I went into cardiac arrest before the procedure ever began. I nearly lost my life over something as superficial as having a flatter mid-section and trying to adapt to society’s traditional definition of beauty. As I nursed my psychological wounds, I began to realize that trying to live up to the prototypes of external beauty paled in comparison to the fact that I have undergone labor, subsequently being blessed to raise five handsome, smart, healthy, intuitive, and happy children. I emerged from my ordeal realizing that my body is an amazing vessel that has given birth to life and that being healthy is what’s important and nothing more.

It is my hope that our First Lady and others who share in this effort will continue to be the beacon to shine a light for those who toil on America’s beauty totem pole. Now don’t get me wrong or take my words out of context. I truly believe that everyone has a right to delineate what they deem is attractive, but we must not confuse perceived “attractiveness” with authentic “beauty.” It is important for African Americans, especially, to realize that true beauty is a spiritual element that lies deep within an individual’s spirit. It can neither be seen nor is it tangible. People tend to forget that beauty is not about looks and looks is not about beauty.

We need to realize we are beautiful no matter where we fall in the color spectrum!!!

Check out Tameka gallery:

Check out Tameka’s glam photoshoot

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Hey Cupcakes,

I’m Biracial Not Black, Dammit is the name of a thought-provoking new documentary from filmmaker Carolyn Battle Cochrane. You can find more info about the doc here. Watch the video clip and share your thoughts. Leave a comment or hit me up @AbiolaTV on twitter, PlanetAbiola.com, blackplanet or flickr.

How do you classify Halle Berry, Alicia Keys, Faith Evans, Mariah Carey and Kelis — if at all? And your president? Is there anyone whose family isn’t mixed race? Is it time to move beyond racial classifications? Do you care how other people choose to define themselves?

WATCH…

A couple of days ago, I posted Jeremih’s “Birthday Sex” video for my PLAY OR SLAY? column. But instead of telling me whether or not the video sucks, the majority of the comments focused on the ethnicity of the main girl in the video.

What the hell?

For one thing, the column was about the video, not the girl. But I’m always open to hearing a good debate, so I’m willing to hear out all complaints. However, what’s with all these folks talking about her being white? She’s clearly not white, so pick another argument. Is it that she’s lightskinned, or “ethnically ambiguous”? Are we going to go into that again? Fine. But here’s my beef: why do you care so much? You didn’t produce the video. You’re not in the video. You don’t have to watch the video.

I DO think it sucks that there are video directors and artists who take preference over browner girls, and that’s really wack. But maybe I’m just an equal-opportunity employer, having two black parents of completely opposite skin tones and having crushed on or dated men of literally all ethnicities, and that could very well be why I think this debate is kind of bullshit. She’s just a pretty girl who beat out a bunch of other pretty girls to get the spot in this video. Maybe there were shadier things afoot in the making of the vid, but who knows? We weren’t there. I’m just kind of pissed at the fact that her racial ambiguity automatically makes her “white,” and therefore makes her “wrong.” That’s ignorance at its best. Or maybe I’m just sore because she reminds me of my little sister, who has green eyes and light skin and hair down to her butt, which has, on more than a few occasions, automatically made her “white” and thus “wrong.”

All I’m saying is, if you’ve got a good basis for bitching, by all means, do it. Go on – be mad that yet another light-skinned girl gets some shine over the millions of beautiful dark-skinned women out there. Be mad that the video just isn’t that good altogether and, to add insult to injury, they’re using a woman of “preferred”  skin tone as its main focus.  But if you’re going to rant, get your facts in order before you run around spouting hate. Cause at the end of the day, all this chick did was get paid.

This same man went on to declare that black women simply had too much attitude – on the bus, at work, in any given situation – just difficult and mean without cause or reason, especially the ugly ones.

A few years later he married a brown-skinned Dominican woman.

I’ve watched many black boys like me grow into men who exclusively date and many times marry whites, Latinos and other ethnicities that are not classically considered “black.” Some have been from the athlete set who are in many instances quietly “groomed” to pursue interracial relationships. Some have been artists who in their pursuit of life without restrictions refuse to be “tied down” to race and culture. But many have been outcasts – those in school who weren’t cool or cute enough, the kind that may have been a little on the chubby side, the ones who weren’t even considered when it came time to go to dances, parties or anything else social. I presume many in this last group might feel they had the last laugh considering the ongoing conversation African American women have today regarding the dearth of available “good black men.”

I was a member of the outcast set. Throughout most of my high school career, during the height of the eighties, I rocked a lopsided ‘fro and Coke-bottle glasses. I had crooked teeth which I hid from everyone by rarely smiling. All of this was attached to a slim body devoid of muscles. Be it snickers shared amongst friends or never being asked to any dances, the sisters made their distaste for me loud and clear.

Maturity has been kind to me. I shed most of my awkwardness as I grew up and as a Chicagoan who immersed myself completely in New York City life after grad school, I gained a savvy that allowed me to reinvent myself from the ground up. I’m happy to say this upgraded me had no axe to grind, no revenge to seek, no penalty to levy, nor any white women to flaunt in the face of my sisters. From my mother to my wife, I’ve never stopped loving the women I’ve always loved: black women…

To read the rest of this article, go to BlackandMarriedWithKids.com.

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Amy Winehouse has been boozing it up in St. Lucia for awhile now even though she supposed to be working on a new album with her time spent there. Global Grind broke it first:

Amy is currently holed up in two villas that are costing her record company, Universal, around $3300 a night. She’s got six people looking after her at a cost of $410 a day, and Universal has installed a recording studio into her home away from home, in the hopes that she’ll sober enough long enough to record the follow up album to her hit Back To Black.

Amy was coherent enough to insist that she and her husband – who knocked up a woman in rehab – are “still in love.” But, she added, “I couldn’t have given him kids – and anyway I want black kids, not white kids.” Later that night she put on her make up and drew freckles on her face before hitting the bar to once again go back to black.

Is Amy headed for some swirl romance?

Click here for the rest of the story.

Did Amy make our Craziest Celeb Performances Ever list? Find out here!

It’s Think About It Thursday…

Ok, so I know from the title of the post you’re feeling, damn, did Abiola fall out with a whole race?

“I’m Through With White Girls” is the award-winning debut film directed by my friend Jennifer Sharp. It’s actually about tolerance. There are many women in the world of entertainment doing exciting things like Mara Brock Ali, Shonda Rhimes, and Robin Arrington Greene, and whenever possible I pay tribute to their work. Director Jennifer Sharp along with Producers Lia and Phyllis Johnson and star Anthony Montgomery speak to me about their film. AND did I mention HANDSOME Lamman Rucker from Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married?”

OH – And don’t leave me by my lonesome- leave me a COMMENT.

This has been a broadcast from Harlem where I live in solo sin with whatever friends roll through and the amazing Anabelle Kitty Kat. Some people won’t like you no matter what so just be your crazy, cool, weird self & give the haters something to talk about!

–

Thanks for hanging with your girl. You know me as Abiola Abrams, Miss Picky on VH1′s Tough Love, the host of The Best Shorts on BET J, the author of Dare, and the host of The Planet Abiola Show online. Join me on Hello Beautiful for my Music Mondays, Sexy Temptation Tuesdays, What-the-Wednesdays, Think About It Thursdays and For the Win Fridays.

Follow me on TWITTER.com/abiolatv, FLICKR.com/abiolatv, abiolatv.TUMBLR.com, YOUTUBE.com/planetabiola and find secret goodies at www.planetabiola.com.

Zahara Jolie-Pitt is America’s Next Top Model!

Abiola Meets Lil Wayne’s Twin Sister

L’Oreal did it again. First they lightened up Beyonce and now the Slumdog Millionaire star. This is the first photo released of Freida’s ad campaign with the cosmetics company. Do you think L’Oreal needs to stop whitewashing its stars?

Click here for more info.

Aside from the actual race, the Kentucky Derby is about two things: strong summer drinks and totally ostentatious hats. It’s the only event where even the tackiest celebrities put forth their best effort to find the daintiest dress and the most detailed hat, in classic Derby fashion, for the sake of the paparazzi (and our eyes!). So it’s only fitting that designer Rachel Roy and Grey Goose vodka teamed up to create the perfect hat and drink combo for May 2 affair.

The designer, who has a creepy way of making literally anyone look beautiful in her pieces, created this royal blue to be worn by a notable celeb on the day of the race. Grey Goose also created a cocktail called the “Run for the Roses” to be the official drink of the Derby, but you get to see both here first! Click on the gallery below to see the cocktail and the hat from other angles. And if you can’t make the race yourself, print out the Run of the Roses cocktail recipe below the gallery and throw a Kentucky Derby party for you and your friends!

GREY GOOSE’S “RUN FOR THE ROSES”

3 parts GREY GOOSE® L’Orange flavored vodka

2 parts peach brandy

2 parts southern sweet iced tea

2 parts fresh lime juice

2 rose petals for garnish

Chambord for floating

• Add first four ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
• Shake vigorously until the outside of shaker is frosted and beaded with sweat.
• Strain into two rocks glasses filled with crushed ice; pour Chambord so that it floats on the top of the drink.
• Garnish drink with rose petals.

I guess that’s good hair. But I never called it that. That’s my hair. I didn’t learn the term ‘good hair’ until the first grade.

Standing in size order waiting to walk into class on the first day of school the girl behind me kept staring at me. I kept looking around and looking down at my uniform thinking that there was something wrong until finally she spoke: “Can I touch your hair?”

I was never asked that before. Growing up and playing with dolls, they all had hair like me. My mom had hair like me and so did my grandma. I never thought of my hair as something special or unique. Actually, since I was tender-headed, most of the time I thought of it as a pain. My grandmother used to tell me, “if you look at your hair too hard it will tangle up.” And it was true, with naturally curly, thick hair, getting a comb through it was almost impossible without putting in at least three hours of work. Doing my hair was an all-day affair. I longed to just be able to wear it straight like my mommy and have it swish and blow in the wind. But, it was a fleeting thought. I never thought my hair was bad – it was just annoying.

And so while walking up the stairs on the first day of class I was shocked, more than anything, that this little girl just wanted to touch my hair. I wanted to ask her why, but I was new to the school so I just said okay. And she took one of my pigtails and twisted it around like a jump rope. It was a little awkward, and I did not know what to do. As I was standing there and I looked I her I noticed for the first time that her hair did not hang from her barrettes like mine. It did not look like mine either; it looked like if I touched it, it would be coarse. I guess that was “bad” hair, but I only knew it after she said, “I wish my hair was long like yours.” I wanted to say why again, but I didn’t.

After a while, I got used to it. People saying things like: “never cut your hair” and “is that all yours?” The next question is always, “What are you?” I was never fully black to them. My hair could not just be from me, but had to be the result of some exotic mix. Black girls were not supposed to have hair like me, and so I could not be “just black.”

And so, growing up, my hair defined me. I was never the loud girl, or the bad girl, or the funny girl. I was the nice girl with nice hair and good grades. I wasn’t even described darkskin girl or the brownskin girl, as kids often use in their descriptions, until much later. But for a while it seemed like my hair excused even the color of my skin, until we got older and more people had hair like mine, or at least appeared to…

So what defines “good hair” versus “bad hair”? To read the rest of this story, go to SocietyandStyle.com.

See what Chris Rock has to say about good vs bad hair in his new documentary

Suffering from your own hair woes? Ask Kiyah for the Wright advice!

Actor Mario Lopez has expanded his hosting talents to Extra but doesn’t want to be compared to other television hosts. Lopez recently spoke to latina.com about Taboo (from The Black Eyed Peas) calling him the “Mexican Ryan Seacrest” and did not sound too happy:

“Well, Taboo is a very talented, great guy, so thanks for the compliment. But I’m looking to be the first Mario Lopez. I don’t follow in anybody’s footsteps.”

For more of Mario Lopez speaking on his career, click here!

Click here to read about Diddy only wanting light-skinned girls!

Running is a great way to tone your body, boost your cardiovascular system and relieve stress. But training for an event run, whether it be two miles or five, isn’t easy. It requires dedication, hours of training every week, and a positive attitude. If you are feeling flat on your runs or are simply interested in some tried and true tips to keep you motivated, keep reading – then refer back to this list of running tips throughout your training for race day.

1: Slow and steady…
It takes a long time to train for (and pull off) a run successfully – could be weeks or even months. So don’t immediately jump into a training program – do some research first and read suggested plans at sites like Runners World. Start at a slow pace, low mileage, and work your way up. You’ll not only prevent injury, you’ll also build a solid running foundation so your body can adeptly handle the stresses and strains of running.

What to eat after a workout.

2: Buy proper running shoes
It’s important to invest in a proper pair of runners. Stop by a professional running store to get an expert fit. Your ankles, legs and body will thank you. And your running form will improve exponentially as a result.

3: Know when to stop
Your body will tell you when it’s done working out. You may feel light-headed, winded or even exhausted. You could even feel pain in your joints or muscles. Learn to recognize these signs and if you feel like you’re pushing it, slow down or stop. There’s nothing wrong with taking a break.

Click here for more tips.

(From sheknows.com)

Want to lose weight? Click here to read 10 steps to weight loss.

Seems like Diddy is not happy with all the drama that’s taking place over his Ciroc casting call.

Diddy tweeted that bloggers are misinformed and says: “I ALSO LOVE WOMEN OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES!!!! Let’s go people!!! We are all BEAUTIFUL children of GOD!!! and even posted pics of his last Ciroc campaign that featured a brown sista.

Click here for Ciroc’s response to casting call drama.

See the information for the commercial casting call that caused all the drama click here!

Diddy twitters during sex.

Check out Diddy counting his stacks.

Why are interracial relationships such a big deal? Tyra Banks recently did a show on interracial dating and it’s really sad how ignorant people are.

Watch the video

Would you date someone outside your race? Tell us what you think?

Click here to see our Top 10 interracial couples of all time.

Is Eve joining the swirl bandwagon?

Aladdin -

Hercules (The Muses) -

The Jungle Book -

Pocahontas -

Mulan -

What do you think of these portrayals of different ethnicities? Comment and Tell us!

Click here for more info on The Princess and the Frog…

If you give Prince Harry enough time to speak, he will guaranteed offend SOMEbody. First it was the Jews with his Nazi Halloween costume, then it was South Asians when he called a guy a “Paki,” and now he’s telling black British comic Stephen K Amos, “You don’t sound like a black chap.”

What the hell?

Says UK publication The Sun,

Stephen told The Wright Stuff on TV’s Five yesterday that Harry, 24, congratulated him before saying: “You don’t sound like a black chap.”

As host Matthew Wright looked on stunned, Stephen added: “I wanted to say, ‘How is I supposed to sound?’”

Asked if he thought it was said in jest, Stephen said: “I hope it was.”

Clarence House would only say last night: “We do not comment on allegations about private conversations involving the Royals.”

Being a prince doesn’t give you the right to be an ass. He clearly didn’t learn how to behave appropriately in public during his royal youth.

[From Guanabee]

Melody Morales, a 21-year-old former Hooters waitress described as a “Latina Lovely,” is suing boobylicious Times Square restaurant Hawaiian Tropic Zone after management denied her a position because she was, apparently, “ghetto” and had an inability to “speak white.”

Melody claims she applied 15 times and each time she was met with the same xenophobic remarks.

According to her lawsuit, Morales interviewed for a job at the restaurant with her mother, where she was informed that she would not be hired because, according to one of the managers, she was not about to “ruin his business” with her Latina accent.

Morales, who is half Puerto Rican and half Dominican, has apparently said that it is her dream to work at an establishment where she serves beer while wearing a bikini, and she does not take kindly to the management of Hawaiian Tropic Zone standing in the way of her goals. A job at that particular restaurant could have earned Morales somewhere around $500 a day. And, she maintains, she was absolutely ideal for the position: “I’m five-foot-six. I’m slim and slender. I got boobs. Ok? I was perfect for the job.”

Melody’s MySpace page (which is set to private) also contains this inspiring quote, perhaps related to her current legal battle: “Gravitate towards your goals and avoid negative people and situations,Trust no one & Do your own thinking independently!!” Get it, girl.

Her lawyer, David Smith, is suing for $500 a day ($130,000 a year) for every year she could have “reasonably been expected” to have remained employed at the restaurant.

A lawyer for Hawaiian Tropic Zone said, on behalf of the establishment: “We are proud of the many Latino and Latina employees in our diverse workforce. We are an equal opportunity employer and find this claim to be without merit…”

To read the rest of the article, click here.

Last week I shared with you all my challenges in discussing race with my six-year-old, and I just wanted to share what’s happened since.

After the MLK assignment, which required him to color in Dr. King, Justin was given an assignment on Abraham Lincoln. As with the MLK homework, Justin was instructed to color in the president, or he would actually lose points onhis assignment. With no instruction from us we left him to color in the picture of Abraham Lincoln. The image above is what he created.

Yeah So we asked him why he colored in Abraham Lincoln brown. He could have said a number of things, like “he’s on a penny, and a penny is brown,” or he “looked brown in the picture.” And it’s unlikely he’s read Leroy Vaughn¹s book, Black People and Their Place In World History, which asserts that Lincoln indeed had African ancestry. So why did he do it?

“He was a president and the President is brown.”

Wow. Wherever you stand on the debate of Barack¹s race and its relevance to us, the impact has been made and it is undeniable. Of course we corrected him and told him that not every president is brown by default, but dangit if I didn¹t smile on the inside. His mind is open to possibilities that we never imagined at his age, and that is change I can believe in.

“Daddy, what does ‘murder’ mean?”

It was one of those rare nights when I got home early enough to help my son with his homework. My wife thought that with Martin Luther King, Jr. being a member of my fraternity, I’d like to help Justin with his MLK report for school. Let me tell you, I haven’t felt this awkward since I pledged.

There were so many issues to tackle in one sitting that I didn’t even begin to know how to address them all with my son. The irony is not lost on me that my son’s introduction to violence was in learning about one of the icons of non-violent protest, and it became glaringly clear how sheltered he’s been thus far. (The other day he asked us “What’s a cockroach?” No lie.) How do you address racism when you’ve never discussed race in your house? My son is peach-colored, as far as he is concerned. I’m brown. Mommy is yellow. The first time he heard the phrase “Black” or “African-American” was when Barack Obama announced his Presidential candidacy. It’s never been an issue for his six-year-old mind to grapple with. My wife and I have passively pushed race in the house. The angel on top of our Christmas tree is Black, as is baby Jesus. He never asked why.

His friends at school are of many different races and ethnicities, but they don’t define themselves in those terms yet. He knows that his mother is from Haiti and that his Grandmother is from Grenada, but that is as far as we’ve gotten with personal distinctions. In school he is Justin B. B for Barrow, not Black.

Covering the basics of MLK’s birth and early life were simple. But when we got to why he was important to American history, I paused. How do you explain Jim Crow laws to a kid who is just grabbing the concept of law and legality? I had to explain to him that there was a time when Black people were treated very badly because of their skin color, and that it was legal. I was given the “Daddy, my notebook is Black – look!” but he kept quiet and listened. I made the distinction between legal and illegal because the police still treat us like its 1963, even though it’s illegal. Dr. King wanted to change the law so that everyone would be treated equally and to get along with each other. He got that.

Then we came to his death. I don’t know how much was covered in class but Justin knew that “a bad man shot him,” though he didn’t know what the word “murder” meant. It pained me to tell him that that is when you take another person’s life. It’s not just dying, like with his goldfish. This was intentionally done by another person. The man that shot Dr. King murdered him. Justin’s face just fell.

I spoke to my sister about my dilemma and she said that we both had a stronger sense of race at Justin’s age because our father is very much a “race” man. He was always talking about “Black people” and what we needed to do to succeed, etc. But how could you not be if you’re a Guyanese immigrant living in New York during the Ronald Reagan/Ed Koch era? Thirty years later not much has changed racially, but I hadn’t felt the urge to push this lesson on my son yet. Yet.

Am I wrong for letting him be ignorant for just a little longer? Or do I need to sit him down and show him video of the BART shooting of Oscar Grant? So much on my mind I just can’t recline…

Vogue India‘s August issue consisted of a 16-page spread of high-end, status symbol designer pieces modeled not by the wealthiest fraction of India’s population who could actually afford such luxuries, but by average Indian citizens. These citizens, though they comprise about half of India’s population, live on less than 1.25 dollars a day. That said, it is unsurprising that Vogue India and its August spread has split India down the middle, the opposing teams being Displeasure versus “What’s the big deal?”

On the one hand there’s Kanika Gahlaut, a columnist for the newspaper Mail Today based in New Delhi. She represents the displeased. According to her, the editorial spread was “not just tacky, but downright distasteful” and “an example of vulgarity.” Furthermore, “there is nothing ‘fun or funny’ about putting a poor person in a mud hut in clothing designed by Alexander McQueen. There are farmer suicides here,’” she said in a phone interview, referencing the thousands of Indian farmers who have killed themselves over the course of the last decade as a result of their debt.

On the other hand, there’s Priya Tanna, Vogue India‘s Editor-in-Chief, who had two words for all Vogue spread critics: “Lighten up.” Vogue‘s mantra is about realizing the “power of fashion” and, these days, “fashion is no longer a rich man’s privilege. Anyone can carry it off and make it look beautiful… You have to remember with fashion, you can’t take it that seriously.”

Now… My thoughts:

First and foremost, I did not find the Vogue spread distasteful, and I do not think that those offended by the spread need to “lighten up.” So, I guess you can count me out of both Kanika and Priya’s camp. In fact, my immediate reaction to the spread was, “So? What else is new?”

Vogue India has merely started a phenomenon, if it hasn’t started already, that has long been present here in the United States, particularly in the Black and Hispanic communities It’s a phenomenon characterized by odd pairings: Fusion hair weaves and chronic student loan debt; white, creaseless Air Force Ones in every color and unpaid child support; a 2009 (insert car of your choice) and an out-of-service cell phone; the latest game system and involuntary unemployment.

I am an African American woman well aware of my ancestral history, and I understand that due to racism, historically most harmfully manifested in American legislation, African Americans (and other minority groups) have had to play catch up behind their Caucasian counterparts for centuries now in an effort to obtain a substantial position within the world in which they live. That said, how much longer will we, as a collective, remain hanging from the bottom rung of the American socioeconomic ladder while continuously pointing fingers at the system?

It is the media’s duty to entice it’s target audiences to buy goods and/or services, but we can’t always afford to be tranced by the “Keep up with the Joneses” tag lines, nor should saying “I spent a hundred bucks on this, just to be like – you ain’t up on this” be cute any longer, yet based on my experiences, those lyrics, courtesy of Mr. Kanye West, still reflect a powerful mentality in ethnic communities.

If fashion is a cause more worthy of our attention and energies than financial well-being, planfulness, and socioeconomic progress, then here’s to the beginning of our demise as a people. Yes, fashion is a powerful entity, and so is style, but neither are defined by designer brands which are inconsistently trendy. And, calling such brands ‘status symbols’ has resulted in many living paycheck to paycheck to create and maintain an addicting illusion of wealth and status most harmful to themselves. Thus, the rich get richer, and the poor stay poor. All in the name of short-term gratification. All in the name of fashion?